Inquiring Chantel

Elric entered the night theatre and took his seat. He glanced around to find any suspicions. His attention was caught by the announcement before the play. 

He looked ahead to see the curtains slowly open, implying the beginning of the play. The main leads entered the stage and narrated their dialogues profoundly captivating all eyes on them except for two. 

Elric sat there with a bored look on his face as attention was taken by someone else who wasn't present here at the moment. All he wanted was the end of the play and return to the inn with Chantel. 

"Chantel!"

He heard someone sitting behind him take her name on which he locked his eyes on the play ahead. Looking at the woman, with white highlights in her long hair he wondered if she was one. 

Soon the play ended and Elric moved forward towards the backstage where Chantel went. 

"Hey you, where do you think you are going?" A guard stopped him. 

"To meet Chantel," he replied calmly. 

"Another love sick of Chantel's enchanting beauty," he laughed and continued, "if we start allowing men to meet her after the play, there would be a long queue."

Elric took out a pouch with a few gold coins and asked, "Now as well?" 

The guard's eyes gleamed in greediness and grabbed the pouch from his hand. He moved aside and said, "Take your time sir," with an irking smile. 

Elric walked towards the room and entered it without knocking, startling the woman sitting in front of the dressing table. 

"Oh man, I would have loved it if you had knocked on the door before entering. Well, your handsome face can get spared by me," Chantel said in a seductive tone. 

"I'll come to the point. I am a councilman and I am here to investigate you about Mr Hall," he said with a stern face. 

He noticed her eyes widening, hearing his name. 

"How can I help you?" She asked, nervously and a bit frightened. 

"Not here. My teammate wants to inquire about you as well. If you follow me," he said and moved out of the room. 

She sat there dumbfoundedly for a few passing seconds and realised he had asked her to follow. Standing up quickly on her feet she marched out of her changing room, following the man. She was well aware not to offend councilmen so decided to cooperate in inquiries, wondering why he had come here to investigate her and how he came to know about her. 

*****

Evelyn paced around the room with a tense face wondering when Elric would return. Five hours had passed and there was no news from his side. 

"Where are you, Elric?" She whispered as she sat on the bed. 

The door opened and Elric entered. He frowned looking at her and said, "I thought you would be sleeping." 

She smiled sheepishly not knowing what to reply as she would never confess that she was waiting for him. As he stepped in, she saw a woman following him. The beauty of the woman was beyond any comparison. Evelyn just sat there, watching her sit on a chair. She wondered if she was Chantel.  

"Chantel?" She asked. 

"Yes, councilwoman. Why do you want to investigate me? Has something happened?" Chantel asked.

Elric closed the door and sat beside Evelyn. She noticed him motioning for her to proceed first. Nodding at him, she began, "How do you know Mr Hall?" She showed a picture of Albert Hall.

"He is my fiance," she said without pausing to think about it.

Evelyn was taken aback by her response. She found herself in a dilemma as to whether to reveal about his death or not.

"Did something happen?" Chantel inquired, looking at her face. Her voice was serious and clearly depicted how worried she was.

Evelyn wondered how to formulate words so that she doesn't appear to be impolite.

"He has been murdered."

Elric dropped the bomb. She looked at him with an incredulous look, hoping he had not revealed it so directly.

"What!" The woman, as expected, burst into tears. Accepting the demise of loved ones was difficult. Evelyn gave her some time to discern the information.

"Do you have any suspicions on someone?" Elric questioned shortly after her weeping had subsided.

Chantel wiped her eyes and shook her head.

"I had never believed we would go apart this quickly," she wailed as she continued, "it had only been a few years since we met." Tears flowed down her cheeks once more.

"So there's none whom you think can murder him," Elric kept on asking.

Evelyn stared at him and thought to herself, "How callous of him to continually humiliate a woman by asking questions." Chantel's eyes welled up with tears once more, which she saw.

"Can we investigate a little later?" She stated fiercely, her gaze fixed on him. Elric, as expected, did not respond and maintained a stony, unconcerned expression.

"It's ok. I don't want to delay and give any chance for the culprit to escape," Chantel replied. Evelyn smiled ruefully at her. "Sir, I suspect someone," she added.

"Can you tell me who it is, Chantel?" Evelyn asked her politely.

"His older sibling. Alderman's Hall. The last time I saw Albert, he seemed concerned about something. He said his brother was behind his property." She sobbed as she spoke.

"So you think Alderman did it for the sake of property?" Evelyn asked her.

Chantel nodded.

"Where can we find him?" Elric questioned.

"I don't know sir. He never spoke about his brother much."

"Do you know how he looks like?" Evelyn inquired.

"Back at my house, I have a photo of him with Albert. I will send it with someone for your reference," Chantel replied.

Evelyn agreed with a nod.

"All right, you may leave now," Elric said. "If necessary, we will contact you again."

Chantel walked out of the room with a nod and wiped her tears as she closed the door behind her.

Evelyn held a rueful smile as she looked at the woman who lost her fiance. She felt sorry for her. It reminded her of Elric's harsh behaviour shortly after Chantel left the room. She felt a wave of wrath wash over her and turned around to confront him about his awful behaviour.

She was taken aback by seeing him smile instead of discerning his attitude.

"Why are you smiling Elric?" With a frown on her face, she asked.

"You'll find out soon. Just a few more days would suffice." With a mysterious smirk, he replied.

His response perplexed her. She never understood his way of thinking but still trusted his decisions. Nevertheless, she decided to wait as he had stated.